165: I have tolerated you for a long time!

Liu Xuan stopped in mid-air, turned around, and quietly looked at Liu Hong, his face devoid of any expression.

"Fellow Daoist Fang, do you want to reconsider my previous conditions? It's not too late to back out now."

Liu Hong's Qi Refining Perfection aura was completely unmasked, and a silver-gray circular mirror Magical Artifact floated behind her head, its vast Qi locking onto Liu Xuan.

"Junior Brother Xu Bin, if you dare to stop me, you'd better carefully consider the consequences!"

She didn't put Xu Bin in her eyes; he was merely a Late-Stage Qi Refining Cultivator at the seventh level of Qi Refining. If Xu Bin dared to stop her, she wouldn't mind taking him down as well.

However, she felt that Xu Bin was a bit strange; his eyes seemed somewhat hollow and blank, as if he had been scared silly.

She remembered Xu Bin being quite clever! According to his usual personality, by now he would have either abandoned the dark for the light or already made a clean getaway.

"You fat pig! I've tolerated you for long enough!"

Liu Xuan no longer concealed his aura, and a primeval beastly presence spread from his body.

A crimson stream of light flew out from within Liu Xuan, transforming into a terrifying Flying Sword radiating a scorching aura.

"Sizzle~"

Instantly! The space between them flickered, and amidst Liu Hong's horrified expression, a charred black hole appeared on her plump belly.

"Foundation… Foundation Establishment Cultivator!!"

Her Dantian shattered, her magical power dissipated, her aura vanished, and the mirror Magical Artifact behind her head dimmed, falling towards the ground.

The scorching Sword Qi ripped and burned her remaining body, with only a few breaths separating her from death.

A trace of regret and a hint of confusion appeared in her eyes. Liu Hong still couldn't understand why a Foundation Establishment Cultivator would hide his identity to deal with a junior Qi Refining Cultivator like her.

A Foundation Establishment Ancestor, and a Sword Cultivator with terrifying combat power at that, shouldn't he be looking for other Foundation Establishment Stage Ancestors within the Sect for secret arts? Why would he spend half a day dealing with a junior like her?

For Cultivators, the gap between major Realms is vast, so high-level Cultivators rarely bother with low-level Cultivators.

In the eyes of a Foundation Establishment Ancestor, a Qi Refining Cultivator is no different from a Mortal, unless they are a peerless Genius; otherwise, even speaking one more word to them is a waste of time.

"Buzz~"

Suddenly!

Just as Liu Hong's Divine Soul was dissipating, a Foundation Establishment Divine Sense rose from within her body.

"Who dares to kill my Liu Family Prodigy!!"

A majestic voice rang out, and the Divine Sense transformed into a black light, searching for the Cultivator's aura nearby.

Liu Xuan was startled, somewhat unclear about the opponent's methods, so he immediately used his illusory god treasure robe to conceal his Divine Soul aura.

The black light indeed failed to detect his presence, and in a blink of an eye, it flew into Xu Bin's body, merging with his Divine Soul.

'So it's a Divine Soul Locking Spell!'

Liu Xuan had heard of this Spell. Some Foundation Establishment Cultivators would plant this Spell in the Divine Souls of their close descendants or Disciples. Once a descendant or Disciple was killed, the Spell seed would transform into a Divine Soul imprint, merging into the opponent's Divine Soul, making it convenient for the Foundation Establishment Cultivator to seek revenge.

According to Xu Bin's memory, this Nether Fire Sect's Liu Family Foundation Establishment Ancestor was a Foundation Establishment Stage Late Stage Cultivator, with extraordinary strength!

If he were to be pursued by a Divine Soul imprint planted by him, even if Liu Xuan could defeat him, it would be very difficult to kill the opponent.

Liu Xuan's advantage lay in his numerous methods, profound foundation, and high-level Cultivation Technique, which allowed him to fight above his Realm.

His drawback was that he was too young! Many Foundation Establishment Ancestors were old monsters who had lived for a hundred or even two hundred years, possessing abundant experience and methods. Fighting one minor Realm above was not a big problem, but fighting two minor Realms above would likely be very difficult.

His Divine Sense swept over Liu Hong's remaining corpse below. Liu Xuan retrieved the Storage Pouch into his hand and also collected the fallen mirror Magical Artifact.

He raised a hand and pointed, and a trace of golden light landed on Liu Hong's corpse. In just a moment, the corpse turned to dust.

Liu Xuan and Xu Bin flew away through the air, and the valley returned to tranquility, as if nothing had happened... Nether Fire Sect.

Huotong Peak.

"Who killed Xiao Hong!!"

A furious roar echoed, heard by everyone in the entire Sect.

"What happened? It actually made the Old Ancestor so furious!"

"Xiao Hong? Who is Xiao Hong?"

"You don't know Xiao Hong? It's Senior Sister Liu Hong of Huotong Peak!"

"Listening to the Old Ancestor, could it be that Senior Sister Liu Hong was..."

...The Sect Disciples discussed animatedly. Liu Hong was a prominent figure in the Nether Fire Sect, and everyone was very interested in her affairs.

Soon! The news was confirmed: Senior Sister Liu Hong had been killed, and Old Ancestor Huotong had already ordered an immediate and thorough investigation of the matter.

"Senior Sister Liu was the only Cultivator in the Liu Family with the potential to Breakthrough to Foundation Establishment. She was Old Ancestor Huotong's most valued junior. Her being killed means there's a good show to watch!"

"Good riddance, I've long disliked that fat pig! If it weren't for her, Senior Brother wouldn't have left me!"

Liu Hong had a very bad reputation within the Sect. Regarding her death, everyone adopted a spectator's mentality... Huotong Peak.

Old Ancestor Huotong had initially intended to immediately go and avenge Xiao Hong, but after sensing the Divine Soul Locking imprint he had left for a while, the anger on his face gradually subsided, turning into a solemn expression.

'The imprint's aura is rapidly weakening; the opponent can actually wear down the imprint!'

His cultivation was at the Late Foundation Establishment Stage, and his Divine Soul Locking imprint was also quite special; even those at the same Late Foundation Establishment Stage would find it difficult to wear it down so quickly. This meant that his opponent was at least at the same Realm as him.

'Could it be that the opponent's target wasn't Xiao Hong, but me?'

It wasn't that he was being overly worried; it was just that this matter was too strange.

A Late Foundation Establishment Stage Cultivator, Xiao Hong would absolutely not provoke him. The greatest possibility was that he was being lured there.

The speed at which the Divine Soul Locking imprint was being worn down seemed to be forcing him to go immediately, not giving him time to prepare, otherwise he would lose the opponent's trace.

Old Ancestor Huotong quickly recalled all his enemies, but in the end, he still couldn't guess who was targeting him.

After a moment of thought, he didn't immediately go to avenge Xiao Hong. Instead, he went to the main peak to ask the Golden Core True Person Sect Master to preside over the matter.

He valued Liu Hong when she was alive, treating her as the future head of the Liu Family, but now that she was dead, upon careful consideration, the meaning of revenge was actually not that great... After calming down for a while, once his anger dissipated, Old Ancestor Huotong was more concerned with figuring out who was targeting him.

The Golden Core True Person was in seclusion, and Old Ancestor Huotong didn't get to meet him, but the person in charge of the main peak granted him permission to mobilize Sect Disciples to investigate the matter.

A few hours later.

A temporary enforcement team of three thousand people was assembled, personally commanded by Old Ancestor Huotong.

At the same time, he also invited three Foundation Establishment friends to assist, and they all headed in the direction of the Divine Soul Locking imprint.

With such a formation, unless the opponent was a Golden Core True Person, it would be impossible to pose any threat to him.

Just as he was about to set off, Old Ancestor Huotong suddenly frowned. The Divine Soul Locking imprint had disappeared, completely worn away by the opponent.

No choice! He could only continue towards the previous direction of the Divine Soul Locking imprint, hoping to find something out.

He also decided to go and see the location where Xiao Hong was killed, perhaps he could find some clues.

Old Ancestor Huotong no longer held out hope for revenge now; he just wanted to find out who the enemy was!